The Stark Girl
by Sanura Bey
Summary: Rose Stark, younger sister of Tony Stark, has a secret not even her brother knows. Join her from the point of her brother's 3 month kidnapping to finding the infinity stones. Goes through Iron Man 1, Iron Man 2, Thor, Avengers, Iron Man 3, Thor Dark World in order.
1. Meet the Starks

**Kunar Province, Afghanistan**

* * *

Tony Stark was riding in a convoy of military vehicles driving through the Afghan desert. He was holding a tumbler of whisky with 3 airmen.

"I feel like you're driving me to a court-martial" Tony said but got nothing but silence. "This is crazy. What did I do?" he asked them. Again nothing. "I feel like you're going to pull over and snuff me." he said but they continued to ignore him. "What, you're not allowed to talk?" he asked looking at the soldier next to him. "Hey, Forrest!"

"We can talk, sir." Forrest told him.

"Oh, I see. So it's personal?" Tony asked him.

"No, you intimidate them." The driver told him, revealing that the driver was a woman.

"Good God, you're a woman. I honestly... I couldn't have called that. I mean, I'd apologize, but isn't that what we're going for here?"Tony asked making the airmen smile. "I thought of you as a soldier first."

"I'm an airman." she told him.

"You have, actually, excellent bone structure there... I'm kind of having a hard time not looking at you now... Is that weird?"Tony asked, trying to lighten the mood. It worked since he got everyone to laugh. "Come on, it's okay, laugh."

"Sir, I have a question to ask." the front passenger told him.

"Yes, please" Tony said.

"Is it true you went 12 for 12 with last year's Maxim cover models?" the passenger asked.

"That is an excellent question. Yes and no. March and I had a scheduling conflict, but fortunately, the Christmas cover was twins." Tony told him. "Anything else?" Forrest raised his hand. "You're kidding me with the hand up, right?"

"Is it cool if I take a picture with you?" Forrest asked him.

"Yes. It's very cool." Tony told him. Forrest handed his camera to the passenger as Tony and Forrest leaned in."All right." "I don't want to see this on your MySpace page." Forrest gave a peace sign. "Please, no gang signs." Forrest lowered his hand. "No, throw it up. I'm kidding. Yeah, peace. I love peace. I'd be out of a job with peace." Forrest threw up the peace sign again and they waited for the picture.

"Come on. Hurry up. Just click it. Don't change any settings. Just click it." Suddenly an explosion blew up a vehicle in front of their Humvee.

"What's going on?" Tony asked frantically.

"Contact left!" The driver yelled.

"What have we got!?" Tony asked. The driver left the Humvee and was immediately shot.

"Jimmy, stay with Stark!" The passenger ordered.

"Stay down!" Forrest ordered.

"Yeah." Tony agreed, ducking. The passenger got out of the vehicle and was shot.

"Son of a bitch!" Forrest was about to leave the vehicle when Tony stopped him.

"Wait, wait, wait! Give me a gun!" Tony ordered.

"Stay here!" Forrest ordered and left the vehicle before being shot in the head.

"Whoa!" Tony scrambled from the Humvee as bullets and missiles flew around him and the soldiers around him were shot and killed. He dove behind a rock to hide and tried to make a phone call when a small rocket landed next to him. On it he saw what would help change everything: a Stark Industries Logo. The rocket then exploded and threw Tony threw the air. When he landed he opened his shirt and found blood covering the body armor he had been wearing before passing out.

* * *

When he came to he was surrounded by armed kidnappers who were making a video of him. He tried to move and found himself tied to a chair, battered, confused, and his chest was swathed in bandages. Beside him was a masked man reading from a prepared speech in another language. If he mad it out of this alive his sister was going to kill him.

* * *

**Las Vegas, 36 Hours Earlier**

I sat at a reception in a crowded ball room at Caesar's Palace. I wore a simple blue dress, well as simple as a dress can be for a Stark. My hair was done in an elegant bun and I wore dark Tanzanite earrings and a teardrop Tanzanite necklace, both of which Tony gave me. There were pictures of Tony on the walls and old newspaper and magazine cuttings of my brother's life was being shown a large screen. Tony was getting awarded tonight so everything was important to these people.

"Tony Stark. Visionary. Genius. American patriot." the voice over said as a picture of Tony on the cover of Wired magazine was shown. "Even from an early age, the son of legendary weapons developer Howard Stark quickly stole the spotlight with his brilliant and unique mind. At age four, he built his first circuit board. At age six, his first engine. And at 17, he graduated summa cum laude from MIT." it said as magazine images of Tony from childhood through his teens were shown. "Then, the passing of a titan." A newspaper cutting of my father, Howard Stark, and my mother, Maria Stark, in December of 1991. The day of their death. I took a deep breath and drank from the wine glass in my hand. I was a Stark, and drinking alcohol was in our DNA. "Howard Stark's lifelong friend and ally, Obadiah Stane steps in to help fill the gap left by the legendary founder, until, at age 21, the prodigal son returns and is anointed the new CEO of Stark Industries. With the keys to the kingdom, Tony ushers in a new era for his father's legacy." A magazine article was shown of Tony and Obadiah together. "Creating smarter weapons, advanced robotics, satellite targeting. Today, Tony Stark has changed the face of the weapons industry by ensuring freedom and protecting America and her interests around the globe." it said as pictures of Stark Industries weapons were shown as well as Tony on the cover of Rolling Stones magazine. I smiled as our long time friend, Colonel James Rhodes, Rhodey as we called him, moved to the podium below the images.

"As liaison to Stark Industries, I've had the unique privilege of serving with a real patriot. He is my friend and he is my great mentor. Ladies and gentlemen, it is my honor to present this year's Apogee Award to Mr Tony Stark." we all broke into applause and waited for Tony to move up to take the award. I started to look around and sighed. Tony wasn't seen. "Tony?" Obadiah, who was sitting next to me, started to stand but I put my hand on his arm stopping him and standing and going to Rhodey instead.

"Thank you, Colonel." I said with a smile on my face.

"Thanks for the save." he whispered to me and I nodded slightly. I'd been accepting awards for Tony for years now. I may be his baby sister, but I was also one of the only four people that man respected.

"This is a beautiful award. Thank you." I said, looking at Rhodey, who stood next to me, before looking at the audience again. "Thank you all very much. This is wonderful. Well, I'm obviously not my brother. I know my brother is very honored and receiving this very prestigious award, especially from a very close friend, is a joy. The best thing about Tony is also the worst thing about him, I'm afraid. He's always working on something to keep us all safe and bring us peace." I told them with a smile as they all applauded my speech. Knowing Tony, he'd be "working" on his gambling.

* * *

I walked into the casino with Rhodey and found Tony playing at a table surrounded by a throng of admirers.

"Work it!" Tony said throwing the dice. "Come on!" he turned to a brunette and flirting with her. "We should just stay till the morning. You are unbelievable." he turned and saw us behind him. "Oh, no! Did they rope you two into this?"

"Nobody roped us into anything!" Rhodey said angrily. "But they told me that if I presented you with an award, you'd be deeply honored."

"Of course I'd be deeply honored. And it's you, that's great. So when do we do it?" he asked Rhodey.

"We already did." I told him as Rhodey held up the award and gave it to him.

"It's right here. Here you go."

"There it is. That was easy... I'm so sorry." Tony told us.

"Yeah, it's okay." Rhodey told him.

"No, it's not. You had a place to be and you weren't there, again. Tony you can't keep doing you need to be more responsible." I told him, but he ignored me and.

"Wow! Would you look at that? That's something else. I don't have any of those floating around." Tony said handing the award to the woman and went back to the table.

"Don't you dare ignore me, Anthony Stark!" I almost shouted at him.

"I'm not ignoring you, Rose. I just want to enjoy my last night in America for a while." he told me and I rolled my eyes at him. "We're gonna let it ride! Give me a hand, will you?" Tony asked the woman, who blew on his dice. "Give me a little something-something." Tony held the dice up to me and I gave him a look, making him move onto Rhodey. "Okay, you, too."

"I don't blow on a man's dice." Rhodey told him. Tony and Rhodey argued silently before Rhodey knocked Tony's hand and the dice rolled.

"There it is. Lieutenant Colonel Rhodes rolls! And..." We watched the dice come to a stop.

"Two craps. Line away." the dealer said.

"That's what happens." Rhodey told him.

"Worse things have happened. I think we're gonna be fine." Tony said.

"We will be." I told him.

"This is where I exit." Rhodey said.

"Deal him out." I told the dealer and he nodded to me.

"All right." Tony said. The dealer told him his winnings and I gave it to someone else to collect it for him and we all walked away.

"Tomorrow, don't be late." Rhodey reminded Tony.

"Yeah, you can count on it." Tony said but we all knew he was lying.

"I'm serious!" Rhodey called to us.

"I know, I know." Tony said as we all separated. "Render unto Caesar that which is Caesar's. There you go." Tony gave the award to the actor playing a gladiator who looked at him confused.

"I'll have that back. Thank you." I said taking it back.

"I don't need it Rose." he told me.

"Rhodey presented this and I accepted it. I choose what happens to it." I told him.

"You say that every time." he complained.

"And it's the only reason you have all those trophies." I reminded him as Happy Hogan and a security detail walked out to the Rolls Royce.

"Mr Stark! Miss Stark!" I sighed at the woman's voice. "Excuse me, Mr Stark, Miss Stark! Christine Everhart, Vanity Fair magazine. Can I ask you a couple of questions?" sh asked us.

"She's cute." Happy whispered to Tony.

"Don't tell him that Happy." I said hitting him lightly.

"She's all right?" Tony whispered asking. I sighed as he turned to face her with a smile after Happy nodded to her. "Hi."

"Hi." she said with a smile.

"Yeah. Okay, go." Tony said pulling me with him as he walked to her. I offered her a false smile but she couldn't tell the difference.

"You've been called the da Vinci of our time. What do you say to that?" she asked us.

"Absolutely ridiculous. I don't paint. My sister paints." he said pointing to me. "Absolutely stunning work."

"Thank you." I said giving him a smile.

"And what do you say to your other nickname, ''The Merchant of Death''?" Christine asked him.

"That's not what he is." I told her.

"It's not bad..." he said and I gave him a look. "Let me guess. Berkeley?"

"Brown, actually." she told him.

"Well, Ms Brown. It's an imperfect world, but it's the only one we've got. I guarantee you, the day weapons are no longer needed to keep the peace, I'll start making bricks and beams for baby hospitals." he told her.

"Rehearse that much?" she asked him.

"Every night in front of the mirror before bedtime." he told her.

"I can see that." she said.

"I'd like to show you first-hand." he said, flirting with her. His usual reaction to a woman.

"All I want is a serious answer." she told him.

"Okay, here's serious. Our old man had a philosophy, ''Peace means having a bigger stick than the other guy.''" Tony told her.

"That's a great line coming from the guy selling the sticks." Christine said to him.

"My father helped defeat the Nazis. He worked on the Manhattan Project. A lot of people, including your professors at Brown, would call that being a hero." Tony told her.

"In fact, they did." I reminded her. There had been many magazine articles saying Howard Stark was a hero to not only our country but to it's people as well.

"A lot of people would also call that war profiteering." Christine told us.

"Tell us, do you plan to report on the millions we've saved by advancing medical technology or kept from starvation with our intelli-crops?" I asked her with a smile.

"All those breakthroughs, military funding, honey." Tony told her before going back to the car.

"You ever lose an hour of sleep your whole life?" she asked him.

"I'd be prepared to lose a few with you." he told her.

* * *

There were many nights I was glad my room was the complete opposite from Tony's. This was one of them. I sat in my room finishing my painting of the golden city. I had many paintings of this mysterious city in my room, in the house and in museums. I had sketches of a man with black hair and emerald green eyes. I knew nothing about his, his name, where he was from, nothing. He was gorgeous though, she did have to admit that. His eyes held mischief and knowledge, knowledge that couldn't be found here on Earth. But that kind of man and that kind of knowledge couldn't possibly exist, could it?


	2. Seperated

**Malibu, California**

"Good morning Miss Stark. It's 7:00 a.m. The weather in Malibu is 72 degrees with scattered clouds." Jarvis said to me as I'd asked him to the night before. 7 a.m. meant I only got an hour of sleep, my dreams filed with the golden city. I got up and dressed before moving to find my brother knowing he'd still be here instead of where he was needed to be.

"Tony? Hey, Tony?" I heard the woman from last night call out as I walked to Tony's lab.

"You are not authorised to access this area." I heard Jarvis say and moved to see her standing in front of Tony's lab door.  
"Jesus!" The woman said.  
"That's JARVIS. He runs the house. I've got your clothes here. They've been dry-cleaned and pressed, and there's a car waiting for you outside that will take you anywhere you'd like to go." Pepper told her."  
You must be the famous Pepper Potts" The woman said to her.."  
Indeed I am" Pepper confirmed.."  
After all these years, Tony still has you picking up the dry-cleaning" The woman asked getting the dry-cleaned clothes from Pepper.."  
I do anything and everything that Mrand Miss Stark requir. Including, occasionally, taking out the trash. Will that be all" Pepper told her and I smiled.

"Yes, please leave. And, what was your name again?" I asked her.

"Christine." She answered with a smile.

"Christine. If you ever insult one of my friends again I'll bury you alive. After todsy you wont be mentioned in this house except for maybe if you were a good lay for my brother. Have a nice day." I told her smiling before she ran to change and leave.

"You didn't have to do that." Pepper told me.

"That was the least I could have done. You're a friend Pepper, and I'll always defend my friends from nasty one night stands." We both laughed lightly before going down to Tony's workshop when Pepper's phone rang.

"Hello?" she listened to the person on the other line as we walked downstairs. We could hear Tony's ACDC through the glass walls as I opened the door for the two of us to enter. I also turned down the music so not only could Pepper hear the person she was talking to, but so we could also talk without shouting. "I tried sending him out already. I'm gonna try again, right now." She told the other person.

"Please don't turn down my music." Tony asked as we walked in.

"I actually want to talk not scream so I'll turn it down all I like." I told him.

"I hate it when you do that." He told me.

"Yes I know." I said with a smile.

"You are supposed to be halfway around the world right now." Pepper told him after she got off the phone.

"How'd she take it?" Tony asked her.

"Like a champ." She said.

"She insulted Pepper." I told him.

"What?" Tony asked turning to us in slight shock. "I assume you corrected that.

"Of course." I said with a small smirk on my face before he turned to Pepper.

"Why are you trying to hustle me out of here?" he asked her.

"Your flight was scheduled to leave an hour and a half ago." She reminded him.

"That's funny, I thought with it being my plane and all, that it would just wait for me to get there."

"And you promised Rhodey you'd be on time this time." I reminded him.

"I did?" he asked in mock shock.

"Surprising that anyone believes you isn't it?" I asked him.

"Tony, I need to speak to you about a couple things before I get you out of the door." Pepper told him.

"Doesn't it kind of defeat the whole purpose of having your own plane if it departs before you arrive?" he asked turning to me.

"That I kinda have to agree with but you promised Rhodey." I said.

"Larry called. He's got another buyer for the Jackson Pollock in the wings. Do you want it? Yes or no?" Pepper asked him turning our attention to where she wanted it. This was why she was very good at her job, she could get the both of us in the right direction.

"Is it a good representation of his spring period?" Tony asked her.

"Erm, no. The Springs was actually the neighborhood in East Hampton where he lived and worked, not ''spring'' like the season." She told him.

"So?" he asked.

"I think it's a fair example. Erm, I think it's incredibly overpriced." She answered.

"We need it." We said together and she smiled at us. I'd said it sarcastically but Tony was always serious about it.

"Buy it. Store it." Tony told her going to the bar he'd kept down here.

"Okay. The MIT commencement speech..." she listed off another item.

"Is in June. Please, don't harangue me about stuff that's way, way, down..." he started telling her but she spoke again.

"They're haranguing me, so I'm gonna say yes." She said. Another reason she was good at her job, she wasn't afraid to speak up.

"Deflect it and absorb it. Don't transmit it back to me." He told her.

"Be nice." I told him.

"I need you to sign this before you get on the plane." She said opening one of the folders she was holding so he could sign something.

"What are you trying to get rid of me for? What, you got plans?" he asked her.

"As a matter of fact, I do." She told him.

"We both do so hurry up and leave." I told him and he gave us both small looks.

"I don't like it when you have plans." He told the both of us.

"You are going to be around the world and in a different time zone. Good luck stopping us." I told him.

"And I'm allowed to have plans on my birthday." She said.

"It's' your birthday?" he asked her and I rolled my eyes.

"Yes." She answered.

"I knew that. Already?" he asked.

"Yeah. Isn't that strange? It's the same day as last year." She said sarcastically.

"Get yourself something nice from me." He told her and I rolled my eyes again.

"I already got her something nice from the both of us." I told him.

"And?" he asked.

"It's was very nice. I loved it." She told him.

"Yeah?" he asked.

"Very tasteful. Thank you, Mr. Stark." She said.

"You're welcome, Miss Potts." He said before signing what she'd wanted him to sign. It was so obvious they had feelings for each other but neither would say anything.

"Okay. We will leave you to your plans for the day Pepper and I will see you bright and early tomorrow morning. As for you my dear brother, we have to leave." I said. Tony and I made our way down to the cars as Pepper went about her day. With Tony gone I'd be working with Obadiah to run the company in my brother's place.

"Which care do you want to take?" he asked me.

"Does it matter?" I asked him. "You'll still take which ever you want."

"True." he said going to the Audi. Happy had met us down by the cars and took a Rolls Royce to follow us to Stark Industries and our private jet. We technically had two because I refused to ride in a jet with a stripper pole in it. Tony sped out of our car lot and through town to get to the jet all the while trying to lose Happy.

Once we got to our destination Tony and I got out of the Audi and he tossed me the keys as he turned to Happy and ignored an annoyed and impatient Rhodey.

"You're good!" Happy told Tony as he got his luggage out of the car.

"I thought I lost you back there." Tony said.

"You did, Sir. I had to cut across Mulholland." Happy told him.

"Ah, I got you. I got you." Tony said pointing to Happy with a smile on his face.

"What's wrong with you?" Rhodey asked Tony.

"What?" Tony asked him as we all made our way to him.

"Three hours." Rhodey said.

"I got caught doing a piece for Vanity Fair." Tony said and I shook my head.

"For three hours. For three hours you got me standing here." Rhodey told him.

"See you later Rose." Tony said as he ran up the stairs and into the plane.

"See you Tony. Good luck and be careful, both of you." I said waving to him and Rhodey.

"Waiting on you now. Let's go. Come on. Wheels up! Rock and roll!" Tony said as he, Rhodey and Happy went inside the plane. I waited for Happy before going about my business for the day. Happy was Tony's bodyguard but I claimed him when Tony was gone and my bodyguard, Mark, would go about his other duties.

"Ready Miss Stark." He told me and I turned to get back in the Audi as he got in the Royce and we left as the plane took off.

I drove into town to an art gallery that wanted to buy some of my paintings and place them for the general public to enjoy. I had some of my paintings brought in for them to look at and decide if they were a good fit for what they wanted to go for.

"Miss Stark, so good to see you again." The director of the gallery said with a large smile on his face as I made my way to him.

"Mr. Harris. I wanted to thank you again for this wonderful opportunity again." I said smiling and shaking his hand.

"Having your golden city on display will be the highlight of our gallery. If you would like to continue this conversation in my office, it's this way." He said leading me to his office. Happy and I followed him to his office which wasn't too far in the lobby. "We have an entire area ready where we would be placing your pieces." He told me as I sat across from him at his desk.

"Where would they be place, just out of curiosity?" I asked him.

"They would be placed…" he pulled out a map and looked for the location he wanted to place the pieces he'd be purchasing. "Here." He pointed to a center gallery area. The Gallery had one central area on all three floors before breaking off into hallways and large rooms filled with artwork from all the greatest artists such as Van Gogh or amateurs like myself. The central gallery was one big circular area that you were in once you left the lobby on the first floor and the first area you saw one each of the other floors. The lobby was the only area where a pieces from multiple artists were located so you could get an idea of what this gallery had to offer for viewing pleasure.

"Would it stay in the central gallery or would they be moved later on to another part of the gallery?" I asked him. This wasn't my first rodeo when it came to galleries buying my pieces and I was always curious about where they wished to place them.

"Since it would be our newest pieces to the gallery they would stay in the central gallery for a while before we moved it off to another area we are having added onto the gallery." He told me and I nodded my head.

"I know a few pieces would be in the lobby here but what about through the rest of the gallery? Would I be able to see them somewhere else as well?" I asked him.

"Yes, we plan on putting some pieces into the hallways as we have others." He told me and I looked at the map of the gallery in front of me.

"I like it." I told him with a smile on my face. He grinned excitedly and we began talking about the business portions of the deal.

"Which pieces were you planning on purchasing?" I asked him.

"Well the golden city is a must." He told me and I smiled and pulled out my phone. I'd taken pictures of all my completed works still at home and showed him some of the city that he was wanting. He pointed out some of them that he would like to see in the gallery: aerial views, some of specific buildings all leading to the palace in the center of the city as well as ground views of some shops, houses and other buildings with people surrounding them going about a normal day. "These are all wonderful. Do you have any of inside the palace?" he asked me and I went to those paintings in my phone and showed them to him. I'd even painted one of the throne room in the middle of a celebration. The king was sitting on a grand golden throne with his wife and two sons to his right and four warriors, three men and a woman, on his left. None of their faces were in view but the scene showed how the power was held in the city, which of course was the whole point.

"How are these?" I asked him.

"Do you have any of the royal family's faces? I think people would love that." He told me and we searched through my paintings on my phone and found only three that held the entire royal family with a clear view of their faces. The queen sat in the middle of the three men her husband standing behind her with his golden spear in his hand and a red cloak covering one shoulder. One of her sons, the blonde one, stood to her right one a hammer in one hand. He wore silver armor with medals adorning his chest and a red cloak like his father's. Her other son, the dark haired man who haunted my dreams, stood creating a slight gap between him and the rest of his family. His armor was more leather covered in thick gold bands and a green cloak on his back. Mr. Harris confirmed he wished to have this one as well before I showed him my latest piece. The background was black with stars covering it and in the center was a planet on one end was the golden city and the other a mountain that seemed to shine with snow at the top. We agreed on a price and I told him I'd have someone bring the remaining paintings to the gallery then I would come and collect the amount owed.

* * *

**Stark Industries Jet**

"What you reading, Platypus?" Tony asked Rhodey as he prepared to eat.

"Nothing." Rhodey answered him.

"Come on, sour patch. Don't be mad." Tony told him.

"I told you, I'm not mad. I'm indifferent, okay?" Rhodey asked him.

"I said I was sorry." Tony repeated.

"Good morning, Mr. Stark." A flight attendant with hot towels said.

"Hi. I told him I was sorry, but he..." Tony started saying but Rhodey spoke over him.

"I'm just indifferent right now." Rhodey repeated.

"Hot towel?" she asked Tony and he took one from her.

"You don't respect yourself, so I know you don't respect me." Rhodey told him.

"I respect you." Tony told him.

"I'm just your babysitter. So, when you need your diaper changed, let me know and I'll get you a bottle, okay?" Rhodey told him taking a hot towel from the flight attendant.

"Hey! Heat up the sake, will you?" Toney said to the flight attendant before turning back to Rhodey. "Thanks for reminding me."

"No, I'm not talking... We're not drinking. We're working right now." Rhodey said.

"You can't have sashimi without sake." Tony told him.

"You are constitutionally incapable of being responsible." Rhodey said.

"You sound just like Rose. It would be irresponsible not to drink. I'm just talking about a nightcap." Tony said.

"Hot sake?" The flight attendant asked bringing the sake and two cups for them.

"Yes, two, please." Tony told her.

"No. I'm not drinking. I don't want any." Rhodey insisted. Sometime later while still on the plane Tony had a cup in his hand still drinking watching the three flight attendants dancing to the music he'd put on while Rhodey drank straight from the sake bottle that he'd been brought out to them earlier.

"That's what I'm talking about. When I get up in the morning and I'm putting on my uniform, you know what I recognize? I see in that mirror that every person that's got this uniform on got my back!" a drunk Rhodey told Tony.

"Hey, you know what? I'm not like you. I'm not cut out..." Tony started telling him but Rhodey spoke again.

"No, no. You don't have to be like me! But you're more than what you are." Rhodey told him.

"Can you excuse me if I'm a bit distracted here?" Tony asked him motioning to the three dancing women in front of him.

"No! You can't be distracted right now! Listen to me!" Rhodey told him but Tony tuned him out.

* * *

**Bagram Air Base, Afghanistan**

Once they landed, Tony was the first to exit the plane and was greeted by US and Afghan military leaders.

"General." Tony said shaking the hands of the general.

"Welcome, Mr. Stark. We look forward to your weapons presentation." General Gabriel told him.

"Thanks." He said before Rhodey walked to him holding his head and shielding his eyes with the same hand. "Hey buddy. You okay? You don't look so good."

"Quit talking and let's go." He told him. They all loaded up in the Humvees and went a safe distance from anyone they could hurt.

"Is it better to be feared or respected?" Tony called out to the men around him. "I say, is it too much to ask for both? With that in mind, I humbly present the crown jewel of Stark Industries Freedom Line. It's the first missile system to incorporate our proprietary Repulsor technology. They say the best weapon is one you never have to fire. I respectfully disagree. I prefer the weapon you only have to fire once. That's how dad did it. That's how America does it. And it's worked out pretty well so far." A man took the tarp off the weapon Tony was showing off. "Find an excuse to let one of these off the chain, and I personally guarantee you the bad guys won't even want to come out of their caves.  
For your consideration, the Jericho." The weapon fired launching just one major rocket before it broke a part into the multiple rockets that landed into the mountains causing a blast wave that blew back over the assembled military brass in front of Tony. Once the demonstration was over, Tony opened a chill box that held a cocktail cabinet and he took a drink out. "I'll be throwing one of these in with every purchase of 500 million or more. To peace!" Tony heard his phone go off and answered it to see Obadiah.

"Tony." Obadiah said.

"Obie, what are you doing up?" Tony asked him.

"I couldn't sleep till I found out how it went. How'd it go?" he asked him.

"It's went great. Looks like it's gonna be an early Christmas." Tony told him.

"Hey! Way to go, my boy, I'll see you tomorrow, yeah?" Obadiah asked him.

"Why aren't you wearing those pyjamas I got you?" Tony asked him.

"Good night, Tony." Obadiah told him before hanging up. Tony called one other person as he stood in front of the Humvee.

"Tony, what are you doing calling me at this hour?" I asked him. I'd been up painting and probably had paint on me.

"I knew you'd be up. You look wonderful in gold and green by the way." He told me.

"Shut up. So, how'd the demo go?" I asked him.

"Went good. How'd the gallery go?" he asked.

"Everything went smoothly. He's taking quite a bit so I bought more things so I could make some more." I told him.

"That's great. So it looks like I'll be back earlier than I expected." He told me and I smiled.

"Good. You know I hate running the company." I said. "I'll see you tomorrow Tony. Don't get shot."

"Like that would happen." He said before hanging up. Tony climbed into the Humvee he was standing next to. Rhodey walked up to him and leaned on the door.

"Hey, Tony." He said.

"I'm sorry, this is the ''fun-vee.'' The ''hum-drum-vee'' is back there." Tony told him.

"Nice job." Rhodey said.

"See you back at base." Tony told him before Rhodey went to the other Humvee and Tony's took off.

Suddenly an explosion blew up a vehicle in front of their Humvee.

* * *

**Malibu, California**

I was sitting at Tony's desk at Stark Industries doing paperwork and other things so Tony didn't have an excuse not to do them when Rhodey walked in with Pepper and Obadiah.

"Rhodey, it's good to see you. Where's Tony he has a company to take back from my temporary command." I joked. The smile on my face fell when I saw the look on his face, Pepper's red eyes and Obadiah's gaze looking away from me. "What happened?" I asked.

"There was an accident."


	3. Three Months

**Malibu, California**

"Yesterday our troops were attacked and are now confirmed KIA due to a surprise attack. With them was the infamous Tony Stark, who is, as of now, listed MIA." I heard on the news in Tony's office.

"You shouldn't be watching that." I looked to the door to see Pepper staring at me.

"Why not?" I asked her. "Until Tony comes back it's my office. My TV. My alcohol." I listed off as she walked up to the desk.

"There are several things you need to do today. Are you up for it?" she asked me and I nodded. She started listing off the things I had to do in Tony's place.

* * *

**A cave somewhere in Afghanistan**

Tony was operated on while still partly conscious to remove the shrapnel from his chest. He quickly fell unconscious only to wake some time later in a cave, where a man was shaving in a small mirror. When Tony tried to move, he found out he was attached to a car battery.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you." The man told him. Tony followed the wires from the car battery to his chest. He frantically pulled the bandages off his chest to find a circular metal device implanted there.

"What the hell did you do to me?" Tony asked looking at it in a small mirror as the man cooked dinner.

"What I did... What I did is to save your life. I removed all the shrapnel I could, but there's a lot left, and it's headed into your atrial septum." The man told him putting down the spoon. "Here, want to see? I have a souvenir. Take a look." The man handed Tony a small jar with the shrapnel. "I've seen many wounds like that in my village. We call them the walking dead, because it takes about a week for the barbs to reach the vital organs."

"What is this?" Tony asked him.

"That is an electromagnet, hooked up to a car battery, and it's keeping the shrapnel from entering your heart." Tony looked up and noticed a CCTV in the cave. "That's right. Smile. We met once, you know, at a technical conference in Bern."

"I don't remember." Tony told him.

"No, you wouldn't. lf I had been that drunk, I wouldn't have been able to stand, much less give a lecture on integrated circuits." The man told him.

"Where are we?" tony asked him, but before the man could answer their captors were making a lot of noise at the door.

"Come on, stand up. Stand up! Just do as I do. Come on, put your hands up." They stood up and placed their hands on the back of their heads.

"Those are my guns. How did they get my guns?" Tony asked him.

"Do you understand me? Do as I do." The man told him. A fat man talked to Tony in a foreign language.

"He says, 'Welcome, Tony Stark, the most famous mass murderer in the history of America. He is honored. He wants you to build the missile. The Jericho missile that you demonstrated. This one'." He said showing him a picture of the Jericho missiles he'd demonstrated.

"I refuse." Tony told them. They then began to hold him under water before placing a bag over his head and dragging both him and the man out into the sunlight where the hood was taken off. Tony looked around to see piles of weapons all with the Stark logo on it.

"He wants to know what you think." The man told him.

"I think you got a lot of my weapons." Tony said and the man translated. Their captor spoke again and the man translated.

"He says they have everything you need to build the Jericho Missile. He wants you to make the list of materials. He says for you to start working immediately, and when you're done, he will set you free." Their captor held out his hand to shake on it and Tony took it with a smile.

"No, he won't." Tony said, knowing the truth.

"No, he won't." the man agreed, nodding with a tense smile.

* * *

**Malibu, California**

I was dreaming of a fierce battle between giant blue men with red eyes and an army in golden armor. The golden army won but and took a blue object as well as a small baby with them before going back to their golden city. Years later, two young boys, one with blonde hair and the other with raven hair, played together in a massive garden. The raven haired boy was at a disadvantage due to his smaller build, but they both had happiness in their eyes. I woke with a start before getting up and getting some water. These types of dreams weren't unusual, but they took their toll on me. Especially with Tony missing right now.

"Miss Stark, are you alright?" Jarvis asked me.

"Yes, I'm fine. Just another dream." I told the AI. I went back to my room for more sleep.

The next morning I got up and just started to paint the scenes I dreamt. I'd decided to take the day off from the company, but I had a feeling Pepper would come and find me.

"Rose?" I turned and saw Pepper in the doorway of my room.

"That was quicker than I thought you would be." I told her." I wanted to take the day off today."

"You are starting to sound like Tony." She told me and we started laughing lightly.

"Maybe the position is cursed for Starks." I joked.

* * *

**A cave somewhere in Afghanistan**

"I'm sure they're looking for you, Stark. But they will never find you in these mountains. Look, what you just saw, that is your legacy, Stark. Your life's work, in the hands of those murderers. Is that how you want to go out? Is this the last act of defiance of the great Tony Stark? Or are you going to do something about it?" the man told Tony who was sitting looking depressed while leaning on his battery.

"Why should I do anything? They're going to kill me, you, either way. And if they don't, I'll probably be dead in a week." Tony told him.

"Well, then, this is a very important week for you, isn't it? Umm." He asked him. That was when an idea struck Tony. A few hours later he was telling them what he needed and the man was translating for him.

"lf this is going to be my work station, I want it well-lit. I want these up. I need welding gear. I don't care if it's acetylene or propane. I need a soldering station. I need helmets. I'm gonna need goggles. I would like a smelting cup. I need two sets of precision tools." Once they were alone, Tony started to disassemble the weapons. "How many languages do you speak?"

"A lot. But apparently, not enough for this place. They speak Arabic, Urdu, Dari, Pashto, Mongolian, Farsi, Russian." The man told him.

"Who are these people?" Tony asked him quietly.

"They are your loyal customers, Sir. They call themselves the Ten Rings. You know, we might be more productive if you include me in the planning process."

"Ya ha." Tony said but he carried on working alone for a while, taking parts out of the weapons. "We don't need this." He threw part of the weapon away and held up a small item in a pair of pliers.

"What is that?" the man asked him.

"That's palladium, 0.15 grams. We need at least 1 .6, so why don't you go break down the other 11?" Tony asked him.

* * *

**Malibu, California**

I sat inside the factory looking up at the large Ark Reactor. My dad had told me something about it once, but it was so long ago that I can't really remember it anymore.

"Rose?" I turned to see Obadiah walking to me smoking a cigar. "What are you doing here?"

"Just wanted to look around at the shipments going out." I told him.

"You don't need to do that." He told me.

"I know, I just wanted to make sure that everything was there before we ship it out to our guys. They are using this to also help find Tony." I reminded him before looking up at the reactor again hearing him sigh.

"Rose. I'll check the shipments. Go back to the office or go home and paint. Do something relaxing." He told me. I thought about it for a moment before shaking my head.

"No, it's all right. This is something I should do at least once." I said. We went to the shipments going out with a list of what was supposed to be in each one and made sure everything was ready to go. It took hours, but it kept my mind off of Tony. It did what I wanted it to do.

"Thanks Rose. This would have taken a lot longer if you hadn't been here to help out." Obadiah told me.

"Isn't it what I'm supposed to do?" I asked him.

"You didn't have to help us out. You're the CEO so you have paperwork to do instead of this." He told me.

"This is something to distract me easier than paperwork can." I told him before putting the papers down and leaving the factory.

* * *

**A cave somewhere in Afghanistan**

Inside the cell, Tony was making a mold as the palladium was turning into melted metal. The man grabbed the metal when it was done melting with metal tongs and slowly moved it towards the mold.

"Careful. Careful, we only get one shot at this." Tony reminded him.

"Relax. I have steady hands. Why do you think you're still alive?" the man asked him.

"What do I call you?" Tony finally asked him.

"My name is Yinsen." Yinsen told him.

"Yinsen. Nice to meet you." Tony told him.

"Nice to meet you, too." Yinsen said smiling at him while pouring the metal. They spent a few days assembling something small and complicated before hooking it up to Tony. "That doesn't look like a Jericho Missile."

"That's because it's a miniaturized arc reactor. I got a big one powering my factory at home. It should keep the shrapnel out of my heart." Tony explained to him.

"But what could it generate?" Yinsen asked him.

"lf my math is right, and it always is, three gigajoules per second." Tony told him.

"That could run your heart for 50 lifetimes." Yinsen said astonished.

"Yeah. Or something big for 15 minutes. This is our ticket out of here." Tony told him quietly before showing him pages with things drawn and written out.

"What is it?" Yinsen asked him confused. Separately the pages showed nothing, but Tony placed them on top of each other.

"Flatten them out and look." Tony said flattening out the pages to show a drawing of a mechanical suit.

"Impressive." Yinsen said looking the plans over. Yinsen fit the arc reactor into Tony's chest, leaving the battery behind as dead weight now.

* * *

**Malibu, California**

I was dressed in a black one shoulder long sleeved black dress, turquoise and gold dangle earrings and bracelet and black heels to the gallery opening. I held a turquoise clutch in my hand as I looked around at the artworks that had been sold or donated to this place. I noticed a man standing in front of one of my paintings and walked up to him.

"Hello." I greeted before looking up at the painting. It was the one with the ceremony taking place in the throne room.

"Do you know the artist of this artwork?" he asked me and I looked out of the corner of my eye.

"I do." I answered. "What do you think of it?"

"I think it's wonderful. And very accurate." He told me and I looked at him confused for a moment.

"Accurate? Do you know this place?" I asked him.

"Very well. From a book I once read." I looked him over. He had black hair, green eyes and a black suit with a long green scarf. He didn't look any different than anyone else in this place, but something about him was familiar. "Who is the artist?"

"I am." I told him and he finally turned to me. "I have other works of the city as well. Would you like to see them?"

"I would." He told me and I showed him some of my other paintings and we just talked for a while about the city and the people in it. "When did you start to draw the city?"

"When I was a child." I told him. "I had these dreams of this wonderful city that never really existed. My mother put me in art class after art class and these are the results." I said as we walked by a painting of the royal family.

"They are fantastic." He commented looking at the painting.

"My favorite ones are the one with the younger prince." I told him smiling at the art.

"And why is that?" he asked me and I smiled up at him.

"Possibly because I know what he would be going through." I told him. "Younger sibling stuck in an older sibling's shadow. That's something I know all too well."

"I wouldn't think so with everyone here to see your works." He said looking at some of the people around us.

"Normally my older brother is here with me. He is the CEO of a multimillion dollar weapons manufacturing company and all his successes are much larger than mine. Can be quite cold in his shadow." I told him.

"And where is your brother?" he asked me.

"Missing. Taken hostage by terrorists or killed. I don't know." I sighed. "Hope of finding him is getting harder to hold onto." I finally admitted.

"Keep holding onto that hope and you will see him." He told me offering me a kind smile. "My name is Loki." He finally introduced holding out his hand for me to shake.

"Rose." I said smiling while taking his hand. "Loki, like the Norse God of Lies?" I asked him and he smiled nodding his head and laughing lightly.

* * *

**A cave somewhere in Afghanistan**

"Good roll. Good roll." Yinsen told Tony as he and the millionaire played backgammon.

"You still haven't told me where you're from." Tony told him.

"I'm from a small town called Gulmira. It's actually a nice place." Yinsen told him.

"Got a family?" Tony asked him.

"Yes, and I will see them when I leave here. And you, Stark?" Yinsen asked.

"Just a sister." Tony told him thinking of his younger sister and assistant.

"So you're a man who has everything." Yinsen said. They spent the remaining months working on the suit until one day a new face appeared in their cell. Both men stood and raised the hands above their heads.

"Relax." The man told them as he walked over to Tony. He touched the arc reactor in his chest in fascination. "The bow and arrow, once was the pinnacle of weapons technology." He walked to the metal scattered around the room. "It allowed the great Genghis Khan to rule from the Pacific to the Ukraine. An empire twice the size of Alexander the Great and four times the size of the Roman Empire. But today, whoever holds the latest Stark weapons rules these lands. And soon, it will be my turn." He now turned to Yinsen and asked him something in another language.

"What does he want?" Tony asked Yinsen as they continued talking. "What's going on?" they kept talking. "What do you want? A delivery date?" Tony asked before moving closer to him before he had guns pointed at him drawing the attention of the new man. "I need him. Good assistant."

"You have 'til tomorrow, to assemble my missile." The man told him before leaving the two men alone.

* * *

**Malibu, California**

I sat in the office at Stark Industries looking outside the large window in Tony's office. My office. Pepper still held on and Rhody was still looking for him, but I was tired of crying every night to sleep. I was tired of everything.

"Rose, are you alright?" Pepper asked me.

"Yea, of course." I told her turning back to the paperwork.

"Rhody called. Nothing yet, but they'll find him." She assured me and I offered her a small smile.

"I know." I said.

"So, I saw you talking to someone at the gallery opening." She said with a smile on her face.

"I talk to a lot of people at those, you'll have to be more specific." I said, but I knew she was talking about Loki.

"Tall, dark hair, handsome." She described.

"I think you just described half the men in Malibu." I said and we laughed.

"Come on. Tell me about him." She practically begged me.

"What do you want to know?" I asked her.

"What's his name?" she asked me leaning forward slightly.

"Loki." I answered.

"Loki, why does that sound so familiar?" she asked me.

"Norse God of Mischief and Lies." I told her and her eyes widened at me. "I know what you're going to say."

"He's named after a god of mischief and lies?" she asked me and I nodded. "Is that safe?"

"Probably not, but I'm not sure I want to play it safe." I told her. "He was so easy to talk to. He listened to everything I had to say. It was nice having someone not care about my name, but about what I said."

"He doesn't know you're a Stark?" she asked me.

"No. Well I told him I painted the golden city and it has my full name with it, but I never told him my name." I told her.

"Keep in contact if you can. Talk to him, see if he's a keeper." She told me and I nodded while smiling before we set about our separate tasks.

* * *

**A cave somewhere in Afghanistan**

After the threat, Tony and Yinsen worked harder to finish and assemble the armor. Tony finished the mask as Yinsen prepared to help him put the armor on. They quickly began putting him in the armor hidden from view of the camera.

"Okay? Can you move? Okay, say it again." Yinsen told Tony.

"41 steps straight ahead. Then 16 steps, that's from the door, fork right, then 33 steps, turn right." Tony repeated off when the guards suddenly started hammering on the door.

"Yinsen! Yinsen! Stark!" they called out before speaking in another language.

"Say something. Say something back to him." Tony told him.

"He's speaking Hungarian. I don't..." Yinsen tried explaining to him.

"Then speak Hungarian." Tony told him.

"Okay. I know." Yinsen said but didn't say anything to the guards.

"What do you know?" Tony asked. Yinsen tried speaking Hungarian, but the guards didn't accept it and tried to open the door which Tony had wired with an explosive. As the door blew up, more guards started rushing to the cells. "How'd that work?"

"Oh, my goodness. It worked all right." Yinsen told him.

"That's what I do." Tony said proudly.

"Let me finish this." Yinsen said.

"Initialize the power sequence." Tony told him.

"Okay." Yinsen said moving to the computer.

"Now!" Tony said.

"Tell me. Tell me." Yinsen said.

"Function 11. Tell me when you see a progress bar. It should be up right now. Talk to me. Tell me when you see it." Tony instructed.

"I have it." Yinsen said.

"Press Control I" Tony instructed.

"I got it." Yinsen said.

"I and enter, I and enter. Come over here and button me up." Tony said.

"Okay. All right." Yinsen did as he told him.

"Every other hex bolt." Tony said.

"They're coming!" Yinsen told him as he fastened up the armor.

"Nothing pretty, just get it done. Just get it done." Tony told him.

"They're coming." Yinsen repeated.

"Make sure the checkpoints are clear before you follow me out, okay?" Tony asked him as Yinsen turned and saw the progress bar on the computer was only around 50%

"We need more time. Hey, I'm gonna go buy you some time." Yinsen told him.

"Stick to the plan! Stick to the plan!" Tony called to him as he took a gun from one of the dead guards and ran from the cell. "Yinsen!" Yinsen ran through the tunnels, firing randomly at the guards and into the air. Tony watched as the progress bar reached 100% making the light go out. Four guards cautiously approached the dark cell. Tony appeared in front of them and took them out in the suit he and Yinsen had made. The armor, they found out, was bullet proof and made Tony extremely strong. He also carried multiple weapons hidden inside the large bulky suit. Tony marched through the tunnels, killing guards as he went towards the door and Yinsen. "Yinsen!"

"Watch out!" Yinsen called to him. Tony say him severely wounded on a pile of explosives and started towards him. As he approached his injured friend, their captor fired a rocket in his direction but missed. Tony returned fire with a missile causing part of the roof to collapse and knocking him out before going to Yinsen. "Stark."

"Come on. We got to go. Move for me, come on. We got a plan. We're gonna stick to it." Tony reminded him pushing his mask up.

"This was always the plan, Stark." Yinsen told him.

"Come on, you're gonna go see your family. Get up." Tony told him.

"My family is dead. I'm going to see them now, Stark. It's okay. I want this. I want this." Yinsen told him.

"Thank you for saving me." Tony said understandingly.

"Don't waste it. Don't waste your life." Yinsen told him before breathing his last breath. As Tony watched him, he pulled the mask back on and walked angrily outside to where the Ten Rings soldiers were waiting for him. They opened fire on him, but the bullets bounced off the armor and the soldier ceased fire.

"My turn." Tony told them. He activated the weapons and shot jets of fire at the soldiers, killing them and destroying the piles of Stark Industries' weaponry. More soldiers opened fire on him and this time the armor took damage. Tony briefly fell to one knee, for a second appearing overwhelmed but he flicked a switch on the armor activating the rockets on the boots and taking off, flying away from the compound as it exploded around him. He quickly ran out of power and crashed into the sand below, the armor breaking into pieces as it fell and even more on impact. Tony shook off his glove and took the mask off. "Not bad." Tony spent the next few hours stumbling across the desert, badly sunburnt and wearing ripped trousers and a vest with his jacket around his head. As he walked in a dazed state down a sand hill, two USAF helicopters flew over him. He smiled and started waving at them. "Hey! Hey!" the helicopters landed and Tony fell to his knees in relief as the airmen, Rhody in front, ran towards him.

"How was the fun-vee? Next time you ride with me, okay!" he told him before hugging him close.

* * *

**Malibu, California**

I sat on a bench looking at the water fountain when I my phone started ringing.

"Hello?"

"Rose? It's Rhody." I held my breath at the next words from him. "We found him."


End file.
